Primary school admissions - think I know how it works - reassurance from someone who has done it before needed!

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We need to list four schools. In our area my rank of choices would be 1. School outside catchment and v oversubscribed (would be amazing if we got in but v unlikely) 2. School outside catchment - last year we would have got in but maybe not this year (Ofsted needs improvement so may not get too many applications) 3. School at bottom of road (will get in - Ofsted Good) 4. Don't care will just list one of the other locals.

I think it works that it doesn't matter if I list school number 2 first or second i.e. if we don't get school 1 - it won't hurt us that school 2 was not our first rank - it will just go on our proximity. Is this right? Otherwise I'll list school 2 first as I'd rather maximise our chances of getting in there but if there is an outside chance I'd get school 1 I'd like to have a go. We'll get school 3 anyway so we're not losing out by including school 1.

Does any of this make sense even?! Stuck in admissions confusion cloud...

I'm no expert but that is my understanding too.

I have listed 4 schools to. Have the option to list 6 but have done it like this:
school 1) dd1 goes to the nursery here but school has v small catchment area. based on last year catchment area we should get in so fingers crossed.
school 2) prob outside catchment so not likely to get in but it's my next fave school.
like wise with school 3.
school 4) no doubts of getting into this school as it's practically opposite my house but has requires improvement ofsted and not 100% sure I want dd1 to go here.

my understanding is that the schools don't know where you have listed them. so if my dd got into school 2 & 4 she would automatically be offered a place in school 2. whereas if she was offered a place in school 4 it meant that she didn't get a place in schools 1, 2 and 3. Hope this makes sense.

Schools don't know how we list them so you should list them by which one you prefer first second etc.

For example if you list your closest school last one but the ones you've listed before won't accept you and another parent leaving in greater distance from your closest school listed first and they only have 1 more space you will take it and not the other parent. don't list school according to chances but according to what you want but always include one that you have a lot of chances (if not definitely know that will accept you)

Yes OP that is exactly how you list them.

As said schools only know that you applied. They don't know what your preference was.

Thank you - husband absolutely insistent that school 2 would know and if it came to a choice between us in category 4 admissions and another they would look at preference - I keep saying that it is distance only!

Off to worry about whether choosing a school with Ofsted NI report in the last 6 months is a good idea.

Actually in Islington and this is probably true of most London Boroughs, schools that are NOT their own admission authorities, which is basically all the non church schools have all their admission processing handled by the Borough so not only does no school know where they are on the preference rank, community schools dont even know who has applied to them, or in due course, who has been offered, only at the right time who has accepted an offer.

Rank in your true order of preference!